An operation panel includes a push key and a switch. The push key is depressed through an opening formed in a panel body. The switch is pushed by depressing of the push key. The push key includes a tapered part tapered toward the switch. The panel body includes an elastic piece inclined toward the tapered part from a circumference of the opening and elastically deformable to an opposite side to the tapered part. When the push key is depressed, the elastic piece is elastically deformed to the opposite side by the tapered part. When the depressing of the push key is released, the push key is pushed up by an elastic restoring force of the elastic piece.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An operation panel comprising: a push key depressed through an opening formed in a panel body; and a switch pushed by depressing of the push key, wherein the push key includes a tapered part tapered toward the switch and a depressed face formed on an opposite end face to the switch and depressed by a user, the panel body includes an elastic piece inclined toward the tapered part from a circumference of the opening and elastically deformable to an opposite side to the tapered part, the depressed face is always disposed in a recessed position with respect to a surface of the panel body, when the depressed face of the push key is depressed, the elastic piece is elastically deformed to the opposite side by the tapered part, and when the depressing of the push key is released, the push key is pushed up by an elastic restoring force of the elastic piece; wherein the elastic piece is formed integrally with the panel body, and includes a base portion bent toward the switch at an approximately right angle with respect to the surface of the panel body, and a tip end portion bent from a tip end of the base portion toward a center of the opening at an obtuse angle with respect to the base portion.
2. The operation panel according to claim 1 , wherein the elastic piece has a projection protruding toward the push key, and the push key has a slip-off prevention projection on a side closer to the switch than the projection, and the slip-off projection is overlapped with the projection in a depressing direction of the push key.
3. The operation panel according to claim 1 , wherein the push key includes: a columnar operated part on a side of being depressed by a user; and a pushing part disposed coaxially with the operated part on a side of the switch, the pushing part is formed in a parallelepiped shape having a pair of long side faces and a pair of short side faces, and the tapered part is formed in the pair of short side faces.
4. The control panel according to claim 1 , wherein the opening is formed on a back face of the panel body.
5. An image forming apparatus comprising the operation panel according to claim 1 .
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
October 7, 2019
March 2, 2021
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